The 2000 Saskatoon Kendo Seminar was held on March 4th and 5th. This was our most successful seminar ever, with about 50 participants from Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Calgary and Banff. We would like to thank the Canadian Kendo Federation and the B.C. Kendo Federation for their support of this important annual event.
The head instructor was Shinichi Koike, from North West Kendo Club in Seattle. Koike-sensei was assisted by Bob Takagaki of Steveston Kendo Club and David Mori of Brantford Kendo Club. This was Mori-sensei’s first visit to Saskatoon. Koike-sensei and Takagaki-sensei were both returning for their second visit. We were pleasantly surprised when Shuya Shiono of Banff came. Shiono-sensei recently started up kendo again after a long absence. The host instructor was Ken Miyaoka of Saskatoon.
Koike-sensei taught seminars on Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. In both sessions, he emphasized basics. Takagaki-sensei commented that the emphasis on basics made him consider just how hard the basics are. Koike-sensei’s reply was that he was only teaching what he himself was working on, and that he would take a similar approach even with national team members.
Saturday afternoon we held our usual small taikai, which everyone enjoyed, and followed that with dinner and a few games of pool. Sunday morning included a kata practice and a grading. We had 12 candidates for ikkyu and 9 candidates for shodan, of which 9 and 7 passed, respectively.
Prairie Taikai 2000 Results Kids (14 and under) 1. Koichi Izumi (Regina) 2. Liam Meyer (Saskatoon) Women 1. Fumiko Kitahara (Winnipeg) 2. Corie Namba (Winnipeg) Novice (ikkyu and under) 1. David Taguchi (Banff) 2. Koichiro Miyamoto (Winnipeg) Advanced (1-2 Dan) 1. Masashi Tamura (Regina) 2. Lance Wall (Saskatoon) Open (3+ Dan) 1. David Mori (Brantford) 2. Shuya Shiono (Banff)